German cheesecake made with quark

Polish twaróg in the traditional wedge shape

Quark (or qvark) is a type of fresh cheese of Central European origin. Cheese is a Food made from Milk, usually the milk of cows, Buffalo, Goats or sheep, by coagulation. Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Dictionaries usually translate it as curd cheese. It is soft, white and un-aged, similar to Fromage frais. Fromage frais (also known as fromage blanc, maquée or quark) is a Dairy product, originating from It is not the same thing as cream cheese or cottage cheese. Cream cheese is a sweet soft mild-tasting white Cheese, defined by the US Department of Agriculture as containing at least 33% Milkfat (as marketed Cottage cheese is a Cheese Curd product with a mild flavor It is drained but not pressed so some Whey remains It is distinctly different from ricotta because ricotta (Italian: recooked) is made from scalded whey. Ricotta (pronounced in Italian) is an Italian Sheep milk Whey cheese. Whey or milk plasma is the liquid remaining after Milk has been Curdled and strained it is a By-product of the manufacture of Cheese

Production

Quark is a member of the acid set cheese group, meaning it is traditionally made without the aid of rennet. Rennet (ˈrɛnɪt is a natural complex of enzymes produced in any Mammalian Stomach to digest the mother's milk and often used in the production of Cheese ^[1] Because quark is consumed without aging, in the United States the milk must first be pasteurized. Once the milk is ready, lactic acid bacteria are added in the form of mesophilic lactococcus starter culture. The Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB comprise a Clade of Gram positive, low- G[[Cytosine C]] acid tolerant non-sporulating non-respiring rod or cocci that are A mesophile is an Organism that grows best in moderate Temperature, neither too hot nor too cold typically between 15 and 40 °C (77 and 104 °F Lactococcus is a Lactic acid bacterial Genus of five major species formerly included as members of the genus Streptococcus Group ^[2]in[3] Acidification continues until the pH reaches 4. pH is the measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a Solution. 6, which causes precipitation of the casein proteins. In Germany, the curd is continuously stirred to prevent it from getting hard, resulting in a thick, creamy texture. Quark is usually sold in plastic tubs with most or all of the whey. This type of quark has the texture of sour cream, but slightly dryer, and contains in its basic form about 0. Sour cream is a Dairy product rich in Fats obtained by fermenting a regular Cream by certain kinds of Lactic acid bacteria. 2 % fat. Quark with higher fat content is made by adding cream, and is often sold flavored with herbs, spices, or fruit.

To make the firmer eastern European version, a small amount of rennet may be added to make the curd firmer. Rennet (ˈrɛnɪt is a natural complex of enzymes produced in any Mammalian Stomach to digest the mother's milk and often used in the production of Cheese Curd is a Dairy product obtained by curdling (coagulating Milk with Rennet or an edible Acidic substance such as Lemon juice Some or most of the whey is removed to standardize the quark to the desired thickness. Whey or milk plasma is the liquid remaining after Milk has been Curdled and strained it is a By-product of the manufacture of Cheese Traditionally, this is done by hanging the cheese in loosely woven cotton gauze called cheesecloth and letting the whey drip off, which gives quark its distinctive shape of a wedge with rounded edges. Gauze is a thin Translucent fabric with a loose open Weave. Its name may derive etymologically from the Persian word for Cheesecloth is a loosewoven Cotton Cloth used in Cheese making such as to press cheese curds for Poutine. In industrial production, however, cheese is separated from whey in a centrifuge and later formed into blocks. A centrifuge is a piece of equipment generally driven by a motor that puts an object in Rotation around a fixed axis, applying a force perpendicular to the axis The Polish, Lithuanian and Austrian varieties contain less whey and are therefore drier and more solid than varieties common in other countries. Lithuanian cuisine features the products suited to its cool and moist northern climate Barley, Potatoes, Rye, Beets greens, The Cuisine of Austria, which is often incorrectly equated with Viennese cuisine, is derived from the cuisine of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is often used as an ingredient for sandwiches, salads, and cheesecakes. A sandwich is a food item made of two or more slices of Bread with one or more layers of a filling Salad is a mixture of cold foods usually including vegetables and/or fruits often with a dressing occasionally nuts or Croutons, and sometimes with the addition of Cheesecake is a large family of sweet Cheese -based Custard pies Cheesecakes are generally made with soft fresh cheeses

Quark consists of 60% to 80% water. Dry mass has 1% to 40% fat; most of the rest is protein (80% of which is casein), calcium, and phosphate. Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water Proteins are large Organic compounds made of Amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by Peptide bonds between the Carboxyl See Casein paint for information about casein usage in artistic painting Calcium (ˈkælsiəm is the Chemical element with the symbol Ca and Atomic number 20 A phosphate, an Inorganic chemical, is a salt of Phosphoric acid.

Name

The name comes from the German Quark, which in turn is derived from the Slavic tvarog, (Polish twaróg, Russian tvorog (творог), and Czech and Slovak tvaroh, and Hungarian túró,) which means "curd". The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) a group of closely related Languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Czech (ˈʧɛk čeština ˈʧɛʃcɪna in Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers it is the majority language in the The Slovak language ( slovenčina, slovenský jazyk, not to be confused with Slovenščina) sometimes referred to as "Slovakian" Hungarian ( magyar nyelv) is a Uralic language (more specifically a Ugric language) unrelated to most other languages in Europe. In Austria the name Topfen ("pot cheese") is used instead of Quark, while in Estonian, it is known as kohupiim ("foamy milk"). Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Estonian (; ˈeːsti ˈkeːl is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1 The cheese is also known simply as "white cheese" (Polish: ser biały, Lithuanian: Baltas sūris, Southern Germany: Weißkäse or weißer Käs, Hebrew: Gvina Levana גבינה לבנה) as opposed to any rennet-set "yellow cheese. Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. " Quark is first described by Tacitus as lac concretum, "thick milk", eaten by Germanic peoples. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire. The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic

Availability outside of Europe

Although common in Europe, quark is extremely rare in the United States. A few dairies manufacture it however, and some specialty retailers have it available. ^{[1] [2]} In Canada quark (firmer East European variety) is available as "baker's cheese" ^[3].

References

See also

• Paneer
• Queso blanco

Links

• Instruction on how to make Quark at home
• American made Quark from the west coast
• American made Quark from Vermont
• Recipe and picture for Topfenknödel (curd dumplings), an Austrian-Czech dessert
• Recipe for homemade Quark
• Recipe for homemade Quark without rennet